Creating a Balanced Meal with MyPlate

Northshore Food & Nutrition uses the USDA MyPlate model to guide our food requirements. These food components include:

• meat and meat alternatives to provide protein
• grains and breads to provide fiber and B vitamins
• vegetables and fruits to provide a variety of vitamins and minerals
• dairy and dairy alternatives to provide calcium and vitamin D

We encourage students to build plates that look like the MyPlate model and help them obtain balanced nutrition with the variety of vitamins and minerals needed for healthy and growing kids. For example, by choosing our chicken curry and brown rice with fresh fruits and vegetables from the garden bar, along with a carton of low fat milk, students create a balanced MyPlate-style meal.

The USDA MyPlate replaced older versions of the food pyramid in 2005 and focuses on outlining the food components needed on each plate to build a balanced meal.